” FX

FX is ready to cross “The Bridge” again. The cable network announced today that it is renewing its mesmerizing crime thriller for a second season consisting of 13 episodes.

Starring Demian Bichir and Diane Kruger, “The Bridge” is a present-day drama series exploring the tensions on the US-Mexico border. It is filmed on location in El Paso and Juarez.

FX reports that the show is the No. 1 new scripted cable series launch of the summer in Adults 18-49. Season 1 is currently averaging 3.65 million total viewers and 1.68 million Adults 18-49. On a Live +7 basis, the show is jumping +89% in total viewers and +105% in Adults 18-49 vs. Live +Same Day.

FX announced today that the Season 2 of “American Horror Story” will be “American Horror Story: Asylum.”

Set in 1964, the upcoming season stars Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Zachary Quinto, James Cromwell, and Joseph Fiennes. Principal photography on the new minseries began on July 17 and it premieres on FX in October.

“When we launched the show last year, we kept quiet about the closed-ended nature of the show because we didn’t want to tip off the audience that the characters were not going to survive,” explained co-creator and executive producer Ryan Murphy. “Now that it has been established that each year is a closed-ended story, the time seemed right to reveal what we’re calling the new installment.

“We picked ‘Asylum’ because it not only describes the setting –- an insane asylum run by Jessica Lange’s character which was formerly a tuberculosis ward –- but also signifies a place of haven for the unloved and the unwanted. This year’s theme is about sanity and tackling real life horrors.”

Here’s a Halloween treat for fans of “American Horror Story”: FX has just announced that it has ordered a second 13-episode season of the spooky haunted-house drama.

“It’s one thing to have the ambition and guts to reinvent a genre in a way that makes it captivatingly fresh for a broad audience—it’s something else entirely to have the craft to back that ambition up,” FX chief John Landgraf said in a press release.

Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (“Nip/Tuck,” “Glee”), “AHS” is producing robust ratings, growing though its first four weeks in the network’s target audience of Adults 18-49. On a Live+7 basis, through two weeks, first-run episodes of “AHS” are averaging 4.2 million Total Viewers, 2.9 million Adults 18-49, and 1.7 million Adults 18-34. It is currently tracking to become the highest-rated first season of any series ever on FX.

On a Live+3 basis, last week’s fourth episode was the highest-rated episode of the season in delivery of Adults 18-49 (3.1 million) and Adults 18-34 (1.85 million).

Viewers who have yet to see “AHS” have a chance to catch up. Tonight beginning at 10 p.m., FX will air a special Halloween marathon of the show featuring the first four episodes. In this Wednesday’s (Nov. 2, 10 p.m.) fifth episode, “Halloween, Part 2”, Halloween night concludes with Tate (Evan Peters) coming face-to-face with his past, and Ben (Dylan McDermott) and Vivien (Connie Britton) are haunted by one of the house’s newest guests.

“AHS” revolves around the Harmons, a family of three who moved from Boston to Los Angeles as a means to reconcile past anguish. The cast features Dylan McDermott as “Ben Harmon,” a psychiatrist; Connie Britton as “Vivien Harmon,” Ben’s wife; Taissa Farmiga as “Violet,” the Harmon’s teenage daughter; Jessica Lange in her first-ever regular series TV role as “Constance,” the Harmon’s neighbor; Evan Peters plays “Tate Langdon,” one of Ben’s patients; and Denis O’Hare as “Larry Harvey.” Guest stars for the series include Frances Conroy as the Harmon’s housekeeper; Alexandra Breckenridge as the Harmon’s housekeeper; and Jamie Brewer as Constance’s daughter.

The last thing I’d normally want on my DVR to-do list is another crime show. Lord knows there are enough of those jamming up prime time.

But after watching a few early episodes of “Justified” from FX, I’m ready to make an exception. There’s an offbeat vibe to it and Timothy Olyphant excels in the lead role as a modern-day lawman who speaks softly, but carries a very quick — and deadly — sidearm.

In its electrifying debut season, the FX legal thriller “Damages” was one of those rare shows capable of wreaking bodily harm upon the viewer. Week after suspenseful week, it would seize us in its clutches, bore deep into our skulls, send shivers rattling down our spines and turn us into quivering wrecks.

Naturally, we had a ravenous hunger for more.

But now that Glenn Close and company are finally returning for Season 2 tonight, we can’t help but anxiously wonder: Will they ever be able to top themselves? And, if they do, will our hearts be able to hold out?

The fall television season doesn’t start in earnest for another couple of weeks, but tonight still brings some compelling new fare, including:

— “Bones” (8 p.m., Fox, 2 hours): Here’s a show I rarely write/talk about, yet I enjoy myself almost every time I watch it. Tonight “Bones” kicks off its season with an episode that has Brennan and Booth (Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz) in London, investigating the murder of an American heiress. The change of location provides a breath of fresh air, as does the humorous presence of a British male-female duo that behave very much like our two heroes. A jolly good show.

— “America’s Next Top Model” (8 p.m., The CW, 2 hours): The big news on this show as it launches its 11th cycle is the inclusion of a transgender competitior named Isis. When her background is revealed, some catty comment arise (“Ain’t this supposed to be a girl competition?” asks one of the participants). But it’s clear early on that Isis is by no means a token contestant. Not only does she make the cut to get into the house, she rocks her first photo shoot, making Nigel and the others sing her praises.

— “Sons of Anarchy” (10 p.m., FX): This gritty new drama instantly earns the distinction of being the most testosterone-laden show in prime time. Violent, raunchy and profane, it focuses on an outlaw motorcycle club that sells illegal arms to an Oakland gang. Male stars, including Ron Perlman and Charlie Hunnam, dominate the cast, but it’s Katey Sagal (“Married … With Children”) as a tough-minded, rocker-chick mom, who steals the show. For my review, click here.

They’re preparing for their final facelift and breast jobs on “Nip/ Tuck,” but they’ve still got some work to do.

FX announced on Tuesday that the high-gloss and sexually charged drama will end in 2011. The show’s final season will consist of 19 episodes, bringing the grand total to 100.

Fans won’t have to wait until then, however, to rejoin Sean and Christian in their scalpel-wielding adventures. The show will return next January with eight fresh episodes, which technically serve as the end to Season 5. Continue Reading →

Is this what they mean by a “Dirt” nap? The drama series about a ruthless tabloid editor played by Courteney Cox has beenÂ put to restÂ by FX after two seasons.

That’s bad news not only for Cox and the show’s fans, but for Walnut Creek native Matthew Carnahan, who served as an executive producer and writer for “Dirt.”

“Dirt” never became a water-cooler hit along the lines of other FX shows such as “The Shield” and “Rescue Me.” In its first season, its so-so ratings were barely good enough to warrant a renewal. Then Carnahan and company saw the show’s second season cut short (7 episodes) by the writers strike. The second season also saw a shift from serial-type storytelling to stand-alone episodes. It obviously didn’t help.

Another thing that probably didn’t help: “Dirt” never succeeded in bringing big-name guest stars (aside from Jennifer Aniston) to a show that seemed to be tailor-made for them.